Trip
by cancerous cactus
Summary: Todoroki's (justified) bitch fit has him flying to California, where he meets the uprising Deku who's on vacation with his mom.


**AN:** this has been in my WIPs for centuries so I decided to post it finally. Enjoy!

* * *

 _This probably isn't a good idea_ , Todoroki thinks solemnly as he packs his bags. In a fit of completely deserved rage, Todoroki had booked a flight to America that leaves in approximately… eight hours. A flight to California, to be specific. Anything to get out of the house and away from his overbearing, number two hero dad. The man was quiet now, as he didn't have any complaints with the way Todoroki was living (he was a very successful hero, on the top ten charts in Japan) but sometimes he says just the right things to set Todoroki off. This time, it was about some of his childhood belongings, stuff his mother had given to him before she was hospitalized. Stuff Todoroki was very, very protective of and the same stuff the man had tried to throw away. Was it a little childish to run away to America because his dad tried to throw away his belongings? Yes. But Todoroki wasn't able to act like a kid when he was kid so he might as well start now.

Of course, this definitely wouldn't fly with Endeavor but… what he doesn't know can't hurt him, right?

With one last, panicky thought of oh my God, I'm actually leaving (which is kind of pathetic in all honesty, he's twenty-two and has never moved out of his dad's house) Todoroki grabs his packed bags, shoves them through the front door, power walks (he's not willing to take the chance of his dad glancing out the window and seeing him walking down the street with his suitcase, the faster he gets out of sight, the better) all the way to the train station.

The train station itself isn't all that glorious, it's busy as usual and and completely free from any fire wielding heroes that may be looking for him (Endeavor thinks public transportation is beneath him, he treats train stations like the plague).

"Going on a trip?" A man asks from behind him and Todoroki nearly jumps out of his skin. Not on the outside of course (he's been trained to well to show surprise, it's a sign of "weakness" according to Endeavor), but it's what's on the inside that counts… or something. Todoroki isn't really all that familiar with common phrases like those.

"Yes sir." Todoroki answers and turns to face the older man, praying that he doesn't recognize Todoroki and put him on the spot in the midst of his secret runaway plan.

"Where to?"

"America." To be honest, in terms of travel destiny, this isn't his first choice, but if he's going to be going overseas for an indefinite amount of time with a limited bank account that probably won't be filled in a while, Todoroki would rather choose somewhere where he can speak the native language pretty fluently.

"I see," the man nods sagely as if he finally understands everything the universe holds, "have fun young'un."

"This is my train…" Todoroki gestures dumbly to the incoming train, always be polite, he hears his mother's words in his ears and he continues on, turning to face the man fully, "It was nice talking to yo-" It's only then, when he turns around to look at him full on does he notice that the old man is just gone. Completely vanished. It's probably his quirk or something but it doesn't make it any less creepy or make Todoroki feel any less crazy. What a bizarre time to be alive.

Even with the looming fear of Endeavor appearing randomly to smite him, it doesn't make the trip to the airport and the waiting at the airport any less boring than usual. Security, as always, is a massive pain in the ass, with the quirk limiters applied to any and every quirk bearing person at the airport. Only with the captain's express permission are you allowed to take them off. Usually, the only times anyone gets to take them off is during emergencies where their quirk would help keep everyone safe.

The plane ride is uneventful, there is no Endeavor emerging from the skies to strike down the plane that is carrying away his protegé (not that Todoroki was thinking that would happen, but he wouldn't be too surprised if it did). With his constant worry though, it's safe to say he didn't get much sleep (it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you). The fight with Endeavor happened late at night, as well as staying up all night be for the fear of being seen with his bags and an email of his ticket, Todoroki hasn't slept in two days. Despite the fact that sleeping only makes jet lag worse, the first thing he does after the plane lands and he gets sleeping arrangements sorted out (he knows a guy) is pass the fuck out on the bed.

When he wakes up fourteen hours later "terrible" doesn't even begin to describe how he's feeling. He feels like he just got bitchslapped by Mt. Lady and then thrown into the sun by All Might. He wants a goddamn pizza. Luckily, America is known for their portion sizes and if he needs anything right now, it's a huge meal so he can eat his anxiety.

Google says there's a place called "Pizza Hut" (he's seen one of these in some of the big cities in Japan before, he'd never stopped to try it though, mostly because he was trying to stop some hot-shot villain every time). The entire aura of the place hints that one too many meals here and you'll be more acquainted with your toilet than ever before. Todoroki has never felt the urge to take something on in challenge more.

Four medium sized cheese pizzas and one salad later and Todoroki just regrets so hard. He feels like death personified. Like every gastrointestinal problem decided to have a love child. He feels oil seeping from his pores and every ounce of muscle mass he gained since high school is now hiding beneath what feels like a layer of pure unadulterated fat.

He kinda wishes Endeavor did appear from the heavens and smite his plane down. Maybe that would have kept him from ever entering a Pizza Hut.

He pays a hefty price with credit card because his dumb ass forgot to exchange money at the airport and finally exits the Pizza Hut. Slowly and painfully, he makes his way to the hotel that seems so far away (in reality it's only half a block away and across the street). With each passing step he can feel himself get more and more nauseated, so much so that every few steps he has to stop to take a deep breath so he doesn't throw up everywhere.

There truly is such a thing as hell on earth.

"Oh my _gawd_." He hears a distinctly female shriek on the opposite side of the street. He really hopes the shrieks aren't about him. Last time he checked he wasn't all that popular in America (not that he checks often, he just does his job). "It's Shouto! What's he doing in San Francisco?" The girl shouts, slapping her friend's arm to get her attention.

"Why does he look so sick?" He can hear the smaller girl mumble as the excited fangirl drags her friend across four lanes of traffic. With a curse to the gods, Todoroki stands straight again, at least attempting to look somewhat professional so people won't suspect anything.

"Hello," He says as calmly as possible and tries to ignore the rolling of his stomach.

The girl screeches again and whips out a notebook from her purse, "Will you please sign?" she asks and offers a pen and the black, sleek notebook. Todoroki takes the notebook a little too quickly than what's considered socially acceptable and signs out a neat Shouto in English at the top and some smaller kanji at the bottom. Carefully, he passes it back, only for his stomach to lurch when the girl grabs him and wraps him in a hug.

Quickly, he shoves her off and hunches over on the sidewalk, coughing and throwing up his entire lunch all over the sidewalk. Apparently this is his life now.

"Oh my God. I made him throw up. I am so sorry Shouto, I should've known you weren't feeling well. You don't look well. Oh my God…" she mumbles and she pats his back soothingly as he throws up all of his goddamn organs.

"Look what you did," her friend says, sounding grossed out (if the gagging noises were any indication), "he threw up because you haven't taken a shower and three days."

"Shut up Sara, stop exposing me." She says and smacks Sara's arm. "Do you need us to take you back to where you're staying?" She asks, pulling her hand from his back as he stands up straighter.

"No-" he coughs lightly, "no I'm fine. And please don't mention to anyone I'm here, this is-" he pauses, trying to formulate a good excuse, "a discrete operation." He says and the girl and Sara nod in agreement.

"You're secret's safe with us!" She says and gives a cheeky salute. "We'll be going now Mr. Shouto but if you need any help you can ask for Peyton at the Target in the strip market over there." She points off in a general direction and grabs Sara by the arm, dragging her back across the street. "Bye Mr. Shouto, I hope you feel better!"

The rest of the trek is easier, now that he doesn't have anything in his stomach he feels a lot lighter than when he started out and he makes it back to the hotel in less than two minutes. Quickly, he walks across the lobby and into the elevator, pointedly ignoring the staff asking if his lunch was good (and it was good, in small quantities). He presses the button for the fifth floor and whips out his phone that he hasn't looked at since he was first at the airport. There are a lot of missed calls from Endeavor but also quite a few worried texts from his friends.

 _Uraraka: are you okay?_

 _Uraraka: shouto answer me_

 _Uraraka: shouto no one's seen you for three days_

 _Uraraka: my hacker buddy traced your phone_

 _Uraraka: why are you in San Francisco?_

 _Iida: Shouto, everyone is worried about you._

 _Iida: I suggest telling one of us what is going on. It is a sign of strength to recognize when you need help._

Aside from Uraraka and Iida, there are a lot of texts from all his other high school classmates who insist on still talking to him, even after high school has long since ended. Weird people, those guys are. He debates on who to tell first and ultimately decides on Uraraka. If he tells her first then she can tell Iida and Iida will tell everyone else because he still feels responsible for the class, despite the fact that the days of class representatives are long gone. He types out an answer for all of them, that he knows will be screen-shotted by Uraraka and sent to the group chat that he and Bakagou aren't in called the "Protect Todoroki" group chat. It was formed late in the year after everyone found out about his unfortunate run in with his mom and a tea kettle and an asshole who likes to call himself Todoroki's father.

It's a little demeaning that they think he needs protection but whatever. They can do what they want.

 _Shouto: I'm in America because I'm working on something._

 _Shouto: Do not be concerned._

 _Uraraka: !_

 _Uraraka: every time you say that it means we should be concerned!_

Todoroki shuts down his phone. Maybe it's childish, maybe he's sulking but he really doesn't want to want to speak to anyone. He came to America for who knows how long to get away from Endeavor and all the hero business, and get away from it all he shall.

* * *

Or not, he thinks wryly as he chases down a purse thief. It's only been a day since arriving in San Francisco and already Todoroki is trying to stop crime that he's not even sure he's legally allowed to stop (do Japanese hero licenses work in America? He's not sure if it ever got covered in class and if it did, it was so long ago Todoroki doesn't even remember) . The thief ducks into an alleyway, and Todoroki follows, checking for civilians so he doesn't get them caught in the crossfire. Unfortunately, it seems like in this particular alleyway, it's civilian happy hour or something equally as dumb. People are packed from wall to wall in the small area and Todoroki every single deity above. It seems that they just keep trying to make his life harder and harder. What was supposed to be a stop for the name of justice has turned into an actual thing that requires effort and brainpower.

A breath, and the purse thief is on the floor and the civilians are screeching about someone named "Deku".

"Deku?" Todoroki mutters, confused, and makes his way to the purse thief. He hadn't even seen the guy who apparently had taken down the purse snatcher in the time it took Todoroki to blink. "Has anyone called the local police?" He asks loudly, squatting down to stare at the unconscious purse snatcher.

Apparently, it's the wrong thing to ask because people start laughing and muttering "tourists".

To answer his question, the guy next to him squats down to and says something that just confuses Todoroki even more, "Deku already has it handled." What does that even mean? Todoroki thinks dumbly as he gives the guy his best the-fuck-you-mean stare.

"Explain." He demands after the guy continues to stare at him and not get what Todoroki's trying to convey with his face.

"Yanno, Deku?"

Todoroki just stares in response.

The guy sighs and starts again, "Since you're new here, I'll explain. Deku's kinda underground, but everyone knows when he pops up 'cause villains just start dropping to the ground. A lot of people suggest it's a strength enhancement quirk like All Might's. Supposedly though, Deku came here from Japan to finish taking down a sex trafficking ring. While he's at it though, he's been taking down some petty thieves and doing a lot of good for the community. In fact, him even being here keeps a lot of the more serious crimes from happening. Apparently, he's really known in criminal rings for being impossible to beat or some shit. All the villains are pretty scared of him. Nobody's ever seen his face, though. It's usually covered or he just gets through with it so fast you don't even see him."

"Thank you." Todoroki nods and stores that information away. He's never even heard of Deku before, much less someone who has a quirk like All Might did. Or does? No one's really sure where the guy is. He just kinda disappeared one day. Everyone's pretty sure he's dead, but hard core All Might fans like to think otherwise.

But what's new really? Many fans like to believe their idols faked their death. The guy's probably dead so like, whatever.


End file.
